Highlighters have become a popular way of marking printed media such as text and/or images in both educational and professional settings. A variety of printed media are commonly printed using techniques such as laser printing, offset printing, ink-jet printing, and the like. Ink-jet printing offers a versatile and inexpensive way to print text and/or images. However, ink-jet printed images can be subject to undesirable smearing and poor waterfastness. One common problem with ink-jet inks is that of smearing when using a highlighter to mark an image. Specifically, the solvents in the highlighter ink can cause a portion of the colorants of the ink-jet composition to be displaced. This results in moderate blurring of the image and/or undesirable colored streaks in the highlighted area. Additionally, some of the ink-jet ink can be transferred to the highlighter, damaging the marker tip.
The ink-jet industry has attempted to reduce these effects using a number of techniques. One common method is to develop ink-jet ink compositions that are smear resistant and exhibit improved waterfastness. A number of these attempts have seen moderate success; however such methods often introduce additional costs and steps in the production of the ink-jet ink. Other approaches for reducing smear of printed images have attempted to design highlighter markers with a physical construction that minimizes smear. For example, the highlighter tip shape and/or material can be modified to reduce smear. However, such methods often require a change in tooling for manufacturers, which may not always be desirable. For these and other reasons, the need still exists for improved methods for reducing smear when highlighting ink-jet text and images.